Life has dealt Marc Petz a series of challenges he has had to overcome on his journey
to graduation from Ferris State University.

When Petz, 29, first began pursuing his bachelor's degree at Ferris, he already had
a full-time job that kept him away from home three to four days a week. While online
classes did help ease the burden, academic scheduling soon became a minor blip on
the screen in what lie ahead for the Wyoming, Mich., native and 1999 graduate of Kelloggsville
High School.

“About a year into the program, my dad unexpectedly passed away. Finding a balance
between allowing time to grieve and staying focused on school was a big challenge,”
he says.

“In my second year, my wife and I had our first child, which made time for homework
even more limited. During my third year, I suffered a severely broken leg and ankle
while I was in pre-season training for jet-ski racing. That caused me to cancel my
summer classes and spend four months on disability leave from work at CSX railroad.
In my last semester, my wife and I just had our second child, so now we have a 1-month-old
baby and a 3-year-old.”

Through the highs and lows, Petz has managed to keep focused on making his dream of
earning a college degree come true, while at the same time earning Dean's List and
other academic honors.

“Graduating from Ferris really means a lot to me because of the challenges I have
faced. It was something I thought I never would do,” he confesses. “After graduating
high school, I went straight to working full-time and never had any intentions of
attending college because I didn't quite know what I wanted to do.”

He adds, “After working several years and feeling kind of stuck in life, I came across
the Digital Animation and Game Design program at Ferris and signed up. I will be the
first in my family to graduate college, which means a great deal to me because it
sets an example for my children as they grow older and start thinking about college.”

Petz credits support from faculty, staff and friends at Ferris, and in particular,
the support he received from his family as the foundation of his success.

“My biggest supporter is my wife, Amy,” he says. “She endured a lot of sacrifices
because of the time that was spent on homework and projects over the past five-and-a-half
years. I can never thank her enough for her support and patience.”

Now, as Petz graduates from Ferris with a Bachelor of Applied Science in Digital Animation
and Game Design and takes the next step toward his future, he plans to explore business
or freelance opportunities, or a teaching position involving visual effects, and hopes
to work on a feature film.